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Justin Thomas' story is for everybody, but especially for those who are absolutely convinced the world's going to hell in a football helmet.

No. No it is not.

Thomas is a three-year letterman and a two-year starter for the Utes, entering his senior season as the starter again at nickelback. There was a day when Utah's defense didn't use the nickel all that much, but that was then, this is straight in the swirl of attempting to stop Pac-12 offenses that center on getting the ball down the field via the pass. At 5-foot-8, Thomas provides that extra help.

He's worked on his strengths this offseason, which he says are his coverage and his speed, and his weaknesses, which he's a bit hesitant to discuss: "My tackling's pretty good. Shoot, I'm just working on perfecting my craft, on a little of everything. My expectation is to have a better year than last season."

Better, but not a whole lot more verbal. Despite his standing among his teammates as a seasoned veteran, Thomas talks only when he deems it necessary.

"I would like to call myself a leader on this team," he says. "But I lead by example, at least most of the time. If there's a situation that gets out of hand, I'll step in. If it comes to that, I'll talk during practice and during games. But I like to show the way."

He's doing exactly that, according to co-offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick, a member of the staff who's never actually coached Thomas, but who has great admiration for him.

"I've been here 12 years; Justin's one of my favorite players we've had," says Roderick. "He's a great character person and it's totally sincere and real. He doesn't say a lot, but you can tell he cares about his teammates. He puts his arm around new guys and walk-ons. He looks out for people. He's been a great competitor on the field and off it he's just a great guy."

Thomas grew up in Orange, Texas, a small community of 18,000 located at Texas' eastern-most point, a port town subjected to hits from hurricanes coming off the Gulf of Mexico. It's notable for being Bum and Wade Phillips' and Bubba Smith's hometown.

"It was humbling growing up there," Thomas says. "It's very small. There's nothing there, so you have to be humble with what you've got. It's out in the country. Everything there is about football. So, I played."

He says he learned to work hard from his father, who, as Thomas puts it, "works his butt off at a plant, doing all kinds of things." His mom works at a nursing home, a place to which the Ute senior was drawn this offseason. Four times a week, while he was on summer break, the 24-year-old Thomas went to the nursing home to visit with the residents, men and women three-to-four times older than him, with all kinds of stories to tell, but with few people around willing to hear them.

Utah's starting nickelback heard every tale they could conjure.

"I just sat there and listened and talked to them," he says. "I liked just communicating with the old people there. They love that. They don't really have anybody to talk to. They have kids of their own, but they're busy doing other things. They couldn't be there all the time. So, I'd just spend time with them. It was no sacrifice on my part. You can gain a lot of knowledge from them. I learned a lot."

Like appreciation for the slow progress made in the realm of civil rights.

"This one guy was telling me how he grew up and what it was like back in the '60s," Thomas says. "It was a great experience just hearing his stories. The culture seems to be different now. He told me what it was like, with discrimination and segregation and all that. He talked about the stuff you only see on TV. It was cool, listening to him."

There were others, too.

"I just looked at them, eye to eye," he says. "I feel like I'm just an ordinary person. But I'm a good-hearted person. It just felt good to do that. I did it out of the kindness of my heart. I gained knowledge and I want to use it in my life. It makes me appreciate life more. You never know when you're going to go, so the more you can learn, the better. I appreciated it.

"I guess I have an old soul."

A good soul.

Thomas says after he's done at Utah, he wants to "find a good job that will help me financially with my family."

He has a cousin who played professional football, but he doesn't mention that in the context of what comes next for him. Just working hard, making a little money, providing for his family, and one other thing: "I'd like to travel the world."

Where have you been?

"Nowhere," he says. "That's why I want to travel."

Justin Thomas already has traveled a long, long way, here in Utah and right there in his hometown, listening and learning as he goes.

GORDON MONSON hosts "The Big Show" with Spence Checketts weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on 97.5 FM and 1280 AM The Zone. Twitter: @GordonMonson.